Chabot Signing with the Senators

The 22-year-old Thomas Chabot signed this week an eight-year extension to staying on with the Ottawa Senators. A contract to the value of $64 million was offered to the young player, leaving the young star with an average income of $8 million per year. This season would have been the defenseman’s final year of his entry-level contract with the Senators, and from the 1st of July 2020, he would have been a restricted agent. Now he is set for the next nine years of his career at the Senators.

This is a development in his career of which he is very proud of. Chabot stated that the contract is a significant development not only for him but for his family too. Chabot had a high season last season with many career highlights including 14 goals, 41 assists and 55 points from the 70 games which he played. He ended up 10th on the list of defenseman with the highest scoring. Since the Senators picked Chabot in the 2015 NHL Draft, he managed 80 points at the team, gathered from 23 goals and 57 assists. Since he made his debut for Ottawa on the 19th of October 2016, he represented the Senators on the ice in 134 NHL Games.

A Long Term Plan

Pierre Dorion, general manager to the Ottawa Senators, stated that Chabot is the kind of player with the capability to develop over time into a core member of their team at a championship level. He also noted that the decision was made because they want to move into a direction with Chabot, which will be beneficial for the team and him. All while the fans are happy about it too.

Chabot’s contract came after the Senators signed Colin White as forward for a six-year contract. His contract is valued at $28.5 million. The vision of the Senators is to develop an active core group of players to carry them forward. The willingness of these players to commit to such a long period to the team is also indicative of their loyalty towards the Senators. This is the foundation on which management wants to expand and continuously improve their rankings within the international rink.

Additional Signed Players

During May they have hired DJ Smith in the position as coach for the team. During July, the forward Connor Brown and defenseman Nikita Zaitsev were traded with the Toronto Maple Leafs. They also signed Ron Hainsey, the defenseman, who was a free agent at that stage as well as Tyler Ennis, as forward, for one year. Lastly, they also traded the forward Artem Anisimov with the Chicago Blackhawks even in July. These editions were made as an effort and in anticipation to drastically improve their position at 31st place at the end of the previous NHL season.